In a world covered by a deadly miasma, humans survive by way of the protection of powerful mages known as Keepers. In the town of Ravenhearth, the Keeper requests a companion from Ash's village every ten years. What happens to them after those ten years, no one knows, for none has ever returned.Ash is a young orphan who dreams of learning magic. When the newest request for a companion is posted, he volunteers. Upon his arrival, he finds the Keeper's home is nothing like the fearful whispers shared around the village. Instead, he slowly grows to be a part of the close-knit family of the Keeper's castle—and falls for Giles, the butler of Ravenhearth, rather than the man he's been sent there to attend.